Episode Archive

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

Host Kathleen Stephenson speaks with the founder of the Between the Covers program, Sharon Wood Wortman, about The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver—A Book for Young Readers and Their Teachers.

Sharon is a poet-performer, playwright, and author of three editions of The Portland Bridge Book, the last two editions with Ed Wortman. In 1991 she originated bridge walks for Portland Parks & Outdoor Recreation. Later she performed BridgeStories—A Storytelling Slide Show across Oregon.

A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today. It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong.

Writer Marian Palaia talks about her new novel THE GIVEN WORLD, which has received rave reviews from the likes of Lorrie Moore, Karen Joy Fowler, Robert Olen Butler.
Spanning twenty-five years, THE GIVEN WORLD moves from Montana to Saigon as it tells the story of a young woman whose life is haunted by her brother's disappearance in Vietnam. Palaia, a first time author at sixty, begins the break in our society created by the Vietnam War and works her way deep into the aftermath -- its impact on one person, on one family, on one country.

Marian Palaia reads from THE GIVEN WORLD Thursday, April 16th, at Powell's on Hawthorne.

Host Sarika Mehta speaks with Cece Bell about "El Deafo," her memoir-graphic novel, a 2015 Newbery Honor Book.
Author/illustrator Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.”

In her third book, which continues to define the contours of the contemporary essay, Sarah Manguso confronts a meticulous diary that she has kept for twenty-five years. "I wanted to end each day with a record of everything that had ever happened," she explains. But this simple statement belies a terror that she might forget something, that she might miss something important. Maintaining that diary, now 800,000 words, had become, until recently, a kind of spiritual practice. Then Manguso became pregnant and had a child, and these two Copernican events generated an amnesia that put her into a different relationship with the need to document herself amid ongoing time.

Marianne Barisonekinterviews Daniel Pinchbeck, author and advocate of the use of psychedelic substances such as LSD, Psilocybin mushrooms and peyote for enriching people's intellectual, psychological and spiritual beliefs through the psychedelic experience. He speaks about his life, his philosophy and his latest book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.

Lisa Loving and Ms. Magazine founding editor Suzanne Levine discuss her new book, Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied Against War and for the Planet, and Shook up Politics Along the Way (co-edited by Mary Thom)

Producer Lisa Loving speaks with award-winning writer Junot Diaz on his novel, which tells the story of a young immigrant who dreams of being "the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien." Junot has been named one of the top writers of the 21st Century by the New Yorker magazine.

Jay Thiemeyer interviews Liz Nakazawa, editor of the poetry collection, Deer Drink the Moon: Poems of Oregon. Nakazawa brings together thirty-three poets to create a masterpiece of poetry about the state of Oregon, published by Ooligan Press, a student-run press at Portland State University.

Local poet Judith Arcana and local writer Miriam Budner discuss the life and work of activist, writer and teacher Grace Paley, who died in August. Judith Arcana's books include "Grace Paley’s Life Stories: A Literary Biography.” Arcana and Budner also read from Grace's work and discuss an upcoming Portland event honoring her memory at Broadway Books on Tuesday, December 11th at 7PM.

Comments

I've read the book twice and rather hoped to hear the program that the author spoke on the book. But that page was not available on your site. Anyway, I loved the book. I thought it was an exciting dose of history. Stoner brought the Portland of 1900 to life. There was intrigue that kept my interest throughout the book.